


Frigid

by Vampykitty_kun



Series: Without Expectations [5]
Category: Batman (Comics), Batman - All Media Types, DCU - Comicverse, Robin (Comics)
Genre: Alternate Universe, Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Cold Weather, Food Issues, Homelessness, M/M, Pining, Prostitution, Regret, Snow and Ice, Underage Kissing
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2013-04-28
Updated: 2013-04-28
Packaged: 2017-12-09 19:16:03
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, Underage
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,236
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/777050
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Vampykitty_kun/pseuds/Vampykitty_kun
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Tim knew it was for the best… but he did not think it would hurt.</p><p>Not this much.</p><p>***Will not make sense without parts 1-4</p>
            </blockquote>





	Frigid

As Dick had promised, Bruce never heard a word about Jason, or about the outside involvement in the case.

Degan was in police custody, and Gordon was confident that they had enough tangible evidence to prosecute him, so all that was left was to wait. Lighthall was proving difficult to find, but rarely did everything fall into place at once, so Tim was hardly worried.

But this did not help Tim sleep at night… not at all.

Since the explosion and arrest three nights ago, he had not been sleeping well at all, lucky to catch an hour here or there when he finally managed to nod off. The guilt was unbearable. He could still so easily see the look of betrayal on Jason’s face as he had backed away from him looking very much like a kicked stray puppy… could still feel Jason’s body pressed against him, lips on his own, and how his heart had hammered in his chest.

The snow made matters worse, having not let up since it began, coating Gotham inch by inch as the days progressed.

He hoped that despite having let him go hard that Jason was still wearing the heated jacket, that he was managing to stay warm and find safety in a nice warm bed, even if not his own… as much as Tim hated to think about that, now more than ever before.

Despite knowing how wrong it was, that he was only making things all the worse on an emotional level for the both of them, he still left Jason food each and every night. He had been afraid that Jason would refuse to touch it, just to spite him, but evidently the hot meals were a temptation that could not be passed up, for they were gone whenever he checked the very next day.

It was a small comfort, knowing that at the very least he was still eating.

But he still could not shake the twisting of his stomach the deep painful ache in his chest, whenever he thought of the money. Money that Jason so desperately needed, tucked beneath the wipers, and discarded with such ease with his hurt.

He could not bring himself to actually _look_ in on Jason.

It would hurt too much.

-x-x-x-x-x-x-

He had lasted the better part of the week before he had caved.

The weather was beastly, wind whipping around at speeds that made balance difficult when swinging or leaping across rooftops, and snow that was falling so thick he could barely see three feet in front of him.

Patrol was a nightmare.  Bruce was raging, ever the alert, and the criminals were taking full advantage of the poor weather.

So much so that Bruce had them split up to cover more ground.

While he had not intended to do so, he ended up flittering past Jason’s street far earlier in the night than he normally would have, and not yet with his package of food. And even though he knew that he shouldn’t, that he had been so very careful and determined beforehand for so long, he could not help himself.

He HAD to see with his own eyes just how Jason was handling the extreme turn of the weather.

In ways he wished he had not... in others he was so incredibly relieved he had.

He sat draped against the stone gargoyle atop one building, hidden within the shadows, a pair of high-powered binoculars in hand as he searched the street below.

It pained him to see Jason and the girls huddled close together, the teen undoubtedly sharing the heat that the jacket was putting off with the girls shaking to the core pressed against his sides.  It hurt even more to see that they were standing in quite a few inches of snow with their sexy heeled boots while Jason couldn’t be the slightest bit dry or warm wearing his beat up canvas high-tops.

And Jason was all he could think about as he finished the rest of the night’s patrol, the ache in his chest growing as the night went on.

-x-x-x-x-x-x-

He had been careless.

Beyond careless, distracted, and now he was paying for it, sporting two cracked ribs as he panted, running across the rooftops.

After reporting his injury, Bruce had demanded he take the rest of the night off… and while he would have loved to take advantage of the situation, toss back a few Tylenol, and curl into a ball within his bed with an icepack, he could not bring himself to do so.

Not yet.

Because although entirely compromised and warped, he had his priorities, and was needed elsewhere, no matter how much of a heartless dick he had been as of late.

Changing from Robin to civilian gear in the middle of a snow storm, with crack ribs was near torture, but he managed it all the same, dropping onto the streets below.

It was only in the shadier parts of Gotham that stores were still open at 3am.

-x-x-x-x-x-x-

It was admittedly far warmer beneath his cape than it was in jeans and a hoodie, and Tim clung to the edges tightly as he purposely stomped a clear path through the snow across the rooftop.

Steam rose from the bag perched upon the box, a large, filling, hearty meal within, and he cast it one last content glance as he made his way towards the fire escape.

It did not take much, not at all. A few loud clattering jumps on the old steel had the alleyway echoing with his presence, and he had not needed to wait long before the crunching of snow followed, and Jason Rounded the side of the building eyes scoring the area for any sign of him.

But Tim knew it was all still for the best, and kept out of sight, silently watching the teen closely.

He watched as the disappointment skirted across Jason’s face.

Watched as his shoulders sagged, smoke escaped his lips, and he shivered beneath the leather.

Watched as the disappointment turned to anger and a scowl slid across the teen’s face…

And then he moved, kicking at the snowy ledge as he went, fleeing onto the edge of a neighboring building as the snow crumbled and fell to the ground below, and Jason stared as it hit the covered pavement in clumps.

He held his breath as Jason pulled himself up over the side of the roof… shuffled down his path… stood in front of the steaming bag.

And he watched, painfully, as Jason bypassed the food and went straight for the box beneath…

His throat clenched insanely tight at the expression that washed over Jason face as he lifted the lid… but he didn’t regret it, not at all when Jason leaned against the building and promptly swapped out his ragged old shoes for the nice warm socks and brand new boots that he had left him.

Tim knew it was wrong, that it was not helping things in the slightest, but when Jason grabbed his food, and flew down the fire escape to sit at the heating vent and eat, he watched him leave… and when the teen was no longer in sight, he pattered back down onto the path he had made earlier.

He returned home, ribs and heart aching, with the flick of his cape and ratty old shoes in hand…


End file.
